Autism in College: A Parent’s Perspective

Challenges with executive functioning, social interaction, and anxiety can greatly impact students with autism in college. Prospective parents of college students with autism often wonder if their young adult can succeed in college even with their diagnosis. The answer: ABSOLUTELY! 

For the past decade, we’ve worked with countless students and their parents to provide our residents with a supportive and positive culture. When prepared with the right tools and resources, students with neurodiversity can find great success at college and in life. But don’t take it from us – here’s one of our alumni parents’ perspective: 

Autism in College: A Parent’s Journey

I always knew that my son was doing the best that he could. It’s heartbreaking to watch your child struggle. My son was identified very early as being on the spectrum and having other mood-related or executive function issues. We’ve been struggling with these challenges since he was a baby. 

The thought of the future was almost paralyzing for him, but we found hope when we found Mansfield Hall. 

The Mansfield Hall Difference

I never dreamed a place like this could exist when we got here. Once I understood how strong this program was and proactive, I understood that I could hand him over to someone else, and they had better ideas than I had. I couldn’t even dream this up.

Mansfield Hall created opportunities for growth for him that I couldn’t create in my house while he was there. Now he feels successful. He feels successful in his job. He’s doing well in his classes. 

He feels a sense of hope about the future that I didn’t see before. He was almost paralyzed with fear about what his future was going to be like. And I don’t see that anymore. 

Building Skills Beyond College Life

When he entered his second year of school, I saw such growth and such confidence. And what we really loved about that is that he is understanding that Mansfield doesn’t want him to stay here forever.

They wanted him to address the problems and work on them together. Take ownership of them and then move on. And that’s, you know, we understand that our son feels hope, and we feel hope for a future for him. 

I was always catching him before he fell, and I was always kind of carrying him on my back. And with Mansfield, you know, that, that’s not going to happen.

A Fantastic Relief

I really got to enjoy my child, and that is something that has been the greatest gift; actually, when I think about the fun that I’m having with him, it’s not even something I even thought about when my son was leaving, but just it’s such a sense of relief to know that he’s okay where he is, and he is thriving where he is.

So now I’m having fun. You know, it was the focus of a lot of years. It’s just a relief. It’s a fantastic relief.